Just over a month ago now I celebrated my 2nd birthday in this amazing town I now call home - London! Last year was a very tricky time for me , celebrating your 22nd birthday 2 weeks after breaking up with your boyfriend of 2 years is not an easy task and looking back I was surrounded by such amazing people who really did everything they could to make it the most special occasion possible , but this year as I sat with my best friend Charlotte making arrangements for celebrating the 23 she said to me "We have to celebrate BIG this year as last year you were too upset to enjoy your birthday" - so with that in mind I decided to celebrate twice! My birthday falls on April 1st (yes April fools day , which funnily enough has never
resulted in a Birthday April Fools prank) and this year it fell on a Friday , so quite simply the only choice was to celebrate on both the Friday and the Saturday - did someone say multiple outfit changes? As Friday rolled around I woke up and begun my birthday at the House of Vogue where I was still interning - as I walked through those revolving doors it made me think 'who would've thought I'd be celebrating my birthday at Vogue' - that in itself was present enough! As the clock hit 5.30 I made my way into the Soho to meet friends at the chic Freedom Bar and walked through the buzz of friday-night-london. Waiting for me were my gorgeous Cosmo-ettes , soon to be joined by my old TKPR team , gorgeous friends Laura Whitmore and Natalia Jorquera and before I knew it there were about 15 of us relishing in cocktails and champagne! The night was followed with dancing into the early hours, doing Karaoke to Cheryl Cole Fight For This Love incredibly drunk and in front of 200 people at London's biggest gay club (HEAVEN) & 2 birthday kisses - I'm not promiscuous I promise - but as it goes 'its my party and I'll snog if I want to'.
As Saturday afternoon rolled around I decided to do some vintage shopping and treat myself to something fabulous to wear for the evening ahead - deciding on a slightly risque sheer vintage leopard print shirt - I deliberated on it for 20 minutes before thinking 'its my birthday and i'm going to have fun with it' - an hour later and I was ready in my leopard having pre-drinks with my stunning bestie Charlotte and flatmates before our night ahead. Always ones to enjoy a fine dining experience Charlotte recommend Gilgamesh one of London's top sushi restaurants for us to start followed by a night of dancing at a Shaka Zulu a ridiculously chic hip hop venue. The night involved some amazing sushi , one too many cocktails and lots of dancing - which to be honest included a very drunk Deni dirty dancing his way to Rihanna, T-Pain and Beyonce over the dance floor unbuttoning his shirt a little too much with Single Ladies being a highlight!
It was a birthday weekend to remember and when I stop and reflect on how far I've come in a year it is really fair to say that with age comes a little bit of wisdom and clarity, life is full of ups and downs but its such a nice feeling to look back and realise that as a person i've really grown and developed and have become more comfortable and confident in my skin at 23 then I ever have. Aside from that I am so lucky and feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing friends who have become more than friends to me , these people are my family and I'm so privileged to have them in my life! So i'd like to thank them for making my 23d birthday amazing! xoxo Deni
